Water is a natural resource that is used every day, whether it be for production or personal usage.  The future of water may be drastically changed however because of the lack of effort that is put into conserving it. This was displayed in an educational, yet artistic way at recently closed exhibition Surface Tension: The Future of Water at the Eyebeam Art + Technology Center (located in Chelsea, at 540 W 21st St. open Tues-Sat from 12 – 6 pm).  The Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland intricately composed the exhibition and I was fortunate enough to visit the Eyebeam Center with TRaC and instructor Brian McCormick.

Surface Tension brings together a collection of work that explains the role of water in the world now and in the future—featuring pieces created by artists, graphic designers, scientists, and engineers. Bit. Fall by Julius Popp is an extraordinary and humongous installation that works like an ink jet printer: jet streams of water form words momentarily in midair. At first, it may seem like these words, some repeating, are just inputted into a computer randomly, but in actuality, the words chosen are “bits” of the trending topics in today’s news. It’s interesting to see how this in-demand resource is used to feature worldwide information.

Another great piece is the Virtual Water Project by Timm Kekeritz. It displays data in a modernly designed poster, and was made into an iOS application in 2010. This chart shows the virtual water content, which includes the amount of fresh water that goes into making a product and how it exceeds the amount of water that is actually contained in the finished product.  This poster is visually appealing, and receives positive reactions for the designs.  In addition, the information presented draws the attention of many.

Similarly, Hidden by Matt Costello shows the virtual water use of our daily lives. Hidden is a set of glass vessels with stoppers. The amount of water that was used to manufacture the stoppers corresponds proportionally to amount of water in each vessel. There are stoppers made from steel, aluminum, epoxy, glass, and ceramic. There is also an alarm clock and smoke detector redesigned and made out of materials that require less water to produce. The main idea of this display is to show how the hidden amount of water used for production and manufacturing can be reduced when making everyday materials.

Science-inspired artwork and design is what Surface Tension is all about.  This amazing show is an excellent way to educate and reveal fantastic artwork to the public; this is only a small preview of what can be seen there. Although it is unfortunately no longer going to be at Eyebeam, it is a traveling exhibition that will continue to inform people about our cherished resource around the globe.  Regardless, Eyebeam is bound to continue to have more fascinating shows at its gallery. I am beyond glad that I was able to see this exhibition before it left for its next destination!